Former bantamweight king Miguel Torres (38-3, 0-0 UFC) steps into the UFC cage for the first time to face the always tough
veteran Antonio Banuelos (18-6, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 126. This bout will be on the PPV portion of the broadcast.
How do these guys stack up?
Torres: 30 years old, 5’9″
Banuelos: 31 years old, 5’3″
What have they done lately?
Torres: W Charlie Valencia (SUB), L Joseph Benavidez (SUB), L Brian Bowles (KO)
Banuelos: W Chad George (DEC), L Scott Jorgensen (DEC), W Kenji Osawa (DEC)
How did these guys get here?
Miguel Torres worked his way up to a place in the pound-for-pound best discussion by starting his career 32-1 before debuting in the now defunct WEC with a win over Jeff Bedard at WEC 30. Two fights later he won the WEC bantamweight championship from Chase Beebe. He would defend his title three times before a shocking knockout loss to Brian Bowles at WEC 42. Torres would suffer consecutive losses for the first time when outworked and submitted by Joseph Benavidez his next time out but did get back on the winning track in his last fight before the WEC was absorbed by the UFC with a submission of Charlie Valencia. Torres is known as an action fighter who has dangerous striking and solid submissions while also being so aggressive that it does leave openings for his opponents from time to time.
Antonio Banuelos was a long time veteran of the WEC, making his first appearance for the promotion in his fifth professional bout at WEC 5. Ironically, Baneulos’ first WEC opponent was the same as Torres only with different results as he was submitted by Jeff Bedard. Banuelos would rattle off eight consecutive wins and establish himself as an always tough fight while being unable to break through against the top contenders in the 135 pound division. Banuelos currently sits at #15 in the USA TODAY / SB Nation Consensus Rankings.
Why should you care?
It’s not too late for Torres to work his way back into the title picture at 135 pounds. He needs this win badly to get a shot at one of the top guys and prove his standing once again. Oh, and it also should be a fun slugfest.